This paper outlines key categories and elements of Kia Manawanui: Kaupapa Māori Film Theoretical Framework, developed to interrogate film texts and shed light on the processes of Māori film production and environments within which filmmakers operate. Kia Manawanui film theory is informed by diverse expressions of Kaupapa Māori , Indigenous and critical media studies, discussions with Māori  filmmakers, theorists and film texts, particularly Ngati (1987), Mauri (1988) and Te Tangata Whai Rawa o Wēniti—The Māori  Merchant of Venice (2002). Six key thematic categories emerge: (1) Māori voices, (2) Māori worldviews and concepts, (3) collectivity and relationships, (4) responsibility and accountability, (5) challenge and resistance, and (6) transformation. The framework is not intended to provide a prescriptive or exhaustive list of categories and elements but is distilled from broader parameters to provide a Māori -focused lens that can be applied to film texts and their production contexts.